Chickpea & Potato Curry

Chickpea & Potato Curry  (via Miriam, my Sister-In-Law)

Ingredients:
- onions
- potatoes
- garbanzo beans
- boneless chicken (for more flavor she says use chicken on the bone)
- turmeric
- Sheek Kebab meat spice
- olive oil
- salt
- ground pepper
- sugar

(enough to feed 4-5 people)
- Cut chicken into large chunks, set aside.
- Peel and dice 2 large potatoes into edible chunks. set aside.
- Finely chop 2 full onions (we use food processor for speed), put into large pot turn on heat, goal is to try and get some of the water out of the onion, cook until you see the juices have begun to sufficiently evaporate, keep turning with large spoon on occasion.
- When enough water as cooked off, add 1/2 ladle (she doesn't know amounts, so we used a ladle) full of olive oil
- Cook onions on medium heat until golden brown color, occasionally stirring (can take a few minutes).
- When onions are golden brown, add chicken, she stirred for awhile until the outside of the chicken was somewhat cooked.
- Add 1-1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
- Add 1-1/2 teaspoon ground pepper (less or more for spice)
- Add 1 teaspoon of Sheek Kebab spice mix (less or more for spice)
- Add some water, (again sorry no exact amounts), but add enough to almost cover the chicken
- Add 1/2 can of chickpeas
- Add potatoes.
- Cover with lid, set heat to low/medium range.
(Your curry will now sit for 30-35 minutes, depending on when your rice is done, go back on occasion to stir if you want)

Now begin with rice.  (Follow Afghan Palau recipe)
**  Interesting variation Miriam does...
When your rice is done on the stove, you've added your salt water, and are about to place into the oven,...
Miriam took out a small sauce pot,  filled it with about 1/2 ladle of olive oil and added roughly 1 tablespoon of sugar.  She stirred these two together until sugar was completely melted.  She then poured (in a sort of artsy way) the oil over the rice in a spiral fashion and DO NOT STIR together.  The goal is to have some of the rice dark brown, some light brown, and some white.  Creates a multi-colored rice effect, visually very pretty.
Place in oven, set timer for 20 minutes.

When rice is done, you can then eat.  The curry is awesome with yogurt and toasted Afghan bread (or pita if you have).

Happy Halloween!

Zaki's older brother is currently off on his first Hajj, so his wife Miriam and 3 kids are being looked after and entertained in his absence by all of Zaki's family.

Last night was our turn, we had invited the kids and Miriam (our Sister-In-Law) over.  Since Monday is Halloween, I decided to plan this amazing and fun-filled Halloweeny Saturday night together. I love kids, and they had never been to our apartment since we moved in.  I wanted to make sure I made a good impression.

Upon my insistence Zaki and I went to the store early that morning and picked up some pumpkins for carving Jack-O-Lanterns, I insisted because it's something that even as adult I've always loved to do, but also because he told me they've never carved one.  Since the kids were born in America I was surprised to hear this, they do take part in Halloween at school and they do trick-or-treat, but I guess never saw the need to buy and carve their own pumpkins.

So needless to say I was stoked to be able to share this new and fun activity with them!  We also purchased some Halloween cake mix to make cupcakes with chocolate AND vanilla frosting (colored orange) and Halloween sprinkles.

So they arrived around 4:30pm completely starved.  I had asked Zaki if we needed to sort out dinner ahead of time, but he said "We'll figure it out when they get here."  I was a little nervous about that, it was Miriams first time at our place, I didn't want her to feel obligated to cook for everyone.  So I started soaking some rice ahead of time to be safe.  Which was a good thing because when Miriam arrived she basically went straight into my tiny kitchen and began cooking.  Which was awkward because first of all, Miriam and I aren't that close.  We've really only been around each other a handful of times.  So for a traditional whitey person like me, I felt strange having her come into my home and begin cooking for us.  Seemed like something I should have planned for and figured out myself, but Zaki insisted it was fine and that she was excited to share her recipes with me anyway.

I had been told by Zaki's brother (the one on Hajj) that his wife's cooking was even better than their Mom's.  Since I've only learned Afghan dishes from Zaki's Mom (and they were all delicious to me), this was hard to accept.  After watching and writing down everything she was doing, when it finally came time to eat I was blown away by her simple curry dish.  Chicken, potatoes, chickpeas, traditional Afghan rice and yogurt.  We gobbled it up and I congratulated her on job well done and promised Zaki and I would try making it ourselves next week.  She beamed to hear that.

(I will post her recipe after this entry)

After dinner was cleared, tea was had and the kids and I got to pumpkin carving.  Though the boys seemed uninterested at first, by the end the were fighting over who got to do what, including lighting the candle at the end to see them lit up in the dark.   I was so happy it was a great success.  :)

Afterwards we did a mad dash to finish up the cupcakes before the kids had to go.  They were warm and delicious right out of the oven and it was almost 10pm by the time they left.

All in all it was a great Halloween night with the kids.  I got to speak with Miriam for a long time and get to know her better.  Any opportunity for me to make some good impressions on Zaki's family I'll take.  They were already so nervous about me from the beginning, so I feel like any time I can show them my true colors I'm winning them over.  After they'd finally left, even Zaki was surprised at how well it went, and he could tell Miriam was impressed with me.

Success!!!

Basic (but favorite!) Afghan Ground Beef Recipe

Kamachalau  (Ground beef with Rice, via Zaki's Mom)

- 4 cloves garlic, 1 green chili pepper (or 2 if you like spice), 2 tablespoon lemon juice, mix finely in food processor

- Add 1/2 ladle of vegetable oil to Medium Size pot or deep skillet, on medium heat, let sit a minute
- Add garlic/pepper mix to oil, mix a little.  Let sit for 2-3 minutes on medium heat
- Add 1/2 pound ground beef to pot and mix everything up until beef is cooked
- Add a little less than 1/2 a teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon curcumin (turmeric), 1/2 teaspoon Seekh Kebab spice
-Lower heat to medium/low and stir/let sit with lid on for 10 minutes.
- After it has cooked well and has reduced, add peas, stir and let sit for another few minutes on lower heat.
Serve with Palau, Yogurt, & Afghan Bread (or whole wheat pita)

Pictured here is our turmeric, given to us by Zaki's parents.  Turmeric is used in almost every Afghan dish.  They call it curcumin (or as they spelt it, kukumand).  I didn't recognize the name kukumand, so it took all of his Dad's memory to try and remember it's English name.  When I asked his Mom what type of flavor it adds, she just says "Makes great color!".  As I've found from these cooking classes with his Mom, getting exact information out of her is difficult.  All her recipes are from memory and is not written down.  There is no exact measurements, no "Add 1/2 teaspoon" I have to do my own translation from watching her, eyeing the amounts she pinches or pours and scribbling it down as we go.  Every time I make her stop to let me properly document something she giggles (she gets a real kick out of my need for accuracy).  In falling suit with my American need-to-know mentality, I did some online research of turmeric and found out it's a type of ginger root used in everything from dyes, to cosmetics, and is even being studied for it's medicinal qualities.  Whatever it does, it's definitely a necessity in any Afghan kitchen. 

Afghanified Fajita

Afghanified Fajita (via Zaki's Mom)

- Using food processor mix together 3-4 cloves of garlic and 2 tablespoons lemon juice
Set mix aside

- Dice1/2 red and 1/2 green bell peppers
- Dice 1/4 of an onion
- Dice 1/2 cup of broccoli (or more if you prefer)
- Rise chicken and cut into small bite-sized pieces
- Pour olive oil into large pot and begin to heat
- Add chicken, plus 1/2 teaspoon of salt, plus 1 teaspoon of turmeric
- Add 1-1/2 tablespoons of the garlic/lemon juice mix
- Mix well, add lid to pot and leave for 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally
- After 5-7 minutes add the chopped veggies, moisture in pot should be mostly burned away
- Add 1 very large tablespoon of Hot Ajvar sauce, 1 tablespoon Sweet & Spicy Sauce (Chinese sauce optional), stir well
- Cook for another minute or so, make sure to not over-cook the veggies, they should remain partly crisp, not soggy.

Serve with Afghan Palau (rice), Arab Yogurt, and toasted middle eastern bread (pita will suffice).







Kamachalau  (Afghan ground beef with rice)

Afghan Rice

Afghan Palau  (basic Afghan rice, via Zaki's Mom)

- Rinse the amount of rice you wish to make to remove dust or musky odors (we use roughly 1 cup for 2-3 people)

- Soak the rice in a large bowl for minimum 2 hours in water, 6 hours for best results (this allows the rice to absorb the water and makes the grains longer in size than traditional rice)

- Bring a pot of water to boil 

- Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- Once boiled, take a ladle full of boiling water into a tiny bowl, add 1 teaspoon of salt then set aside, drain soaked rice with colander in sink, then pour  back into boiling pot

- Cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes 

- Crucial step: After 2 minutes, while stirring, check the rice grains to make sure they are not too soft or hard  (Take a rice grain in your finger, break with your thumbnail, if ready it should break in half easily, if too hard leave to boil more.  Another way of checking is to bite a grain in your mouth, rice should be somewhat soft, but not 100% cooked inside, also when rice grains appear longer, this means it's ready)

- Drain rice in colander 

- Put the rice back into pot and add 1/2 ladle full of olive oil, add previously made salt water mix, add 1 tablespoon of Bombay Biryani Mix, stir together gently.  (Optional time to add a few raisins)

- Put lid on pot, set in oven for 20 minutes. - After 20 minutes. turn oven down to 200 degrees, rice can either be eaten immediately or sit (to keep warm) up to 10 more minutes.

This is a basic rice palau, there are many different style of palau in the Afghan world.  His Mom taught us a basic staple rice to make and eat with other dishes we're learning.

   It's worth noting that most Afghans have their "own way" for making palau.  I've watched his Sister-In-Law make palau and she does some steps differently or cooks for longer or add red food dye for color.  Essentially these small differences are only notable to Afghans because I don't taste a huge difference.  Personally, I'm proud of my palau and Zaki approves.  I've now made it multiple times on my own, tweaking some parts of the recipe to suit us and our needs.  The more I make it the better it gets.

   It's also worth noting, Afghans and their rice is kind of a big deal.  My experience as a White American, we may steam some white rice from time to time to go with fish, or our own stirfrys, but I've never made or had rice like this at home.  Rice in the Afghan world is an art form, and they will all tell you Afghan rice is the best rice.  Period.

Afghans & Food

  One thing that's important to know about Afghans, they are somewhat obsessed with their food.  They take great pride in their cooking, and will commonly tell you that they'll prefer their home-cooking to any other restaurant out there.  No matter how delicious a restaurant can be, it will never compare in the freshness and high quality of their own cooking.  It's almost comical how often the words "fresh" and "best quality" come up when talking to Afghans about food.

   Zaki's parents visited us today, bringing us tons of spices, plates, and cooking utensils (we just moved into this apartment and were severely lacking).  The last Sunday they visited they'd taken stock of what our sad little kitchen was missing and today arrived with bags upon bags of stuff.

  On his parents last visit, I was taught how to make a very basic Afghan Palau (rice dish), a staple to any Afghan dinner.  Today, they tested me by letting me make it myself, which I luckily did perfectly fine from memory (*sigh of relief*).  This time his Mom had also recommended I learn a basic version of Afghan Banjan (fried eggplant yogurt dish), she'd brought all the ingredients with her, and we quickly got to cooking (his Mama pictured left).

  Let me just say, I love this dish.  Being American, I did not grow up with very many eggplants in my house.  Though my Mom cooked every night (and delicious food at that!), it was just never a vegetable we used.  That said, I had tasted this delicious eggplant dish once before at Zak's brothers house.  His Sister-In-Law had already happily shown me her version, and now I've watched his Mom.  I love learning this stuff, not only because it's comfort food for Zaki but because it's extremely yummy stuff that I'd love to cook for myself or my family too.

  The eggplant was sooooo good, I couldn't help but stuff myself.  His parents kept claiming they weren't hungry and had only stopped by to give us some things and quickly teach me how to make banjan.  They promptly left and Zaki and I finished off the banjan ourselves.

One of these days I will add a recipe section to my blog and include all of these tasty delights.  Though many Afghan dishes can be found online, I feel it's important to see all the variations (with amazing photos included).  His family has their own way, and it seems worth sharing with the world.

The Burani Banjan without the yogurt added.

(Next time I will take better pictures!)

Introduction to my blog.

Hello!  And welcome, my name is Meera. :)

  The reason I started this blog?  Lots come to mind, but I guess the main one is I tend to look to friends, family, and Google for help with a lot of things in my life.  I love reading stories of people going through the similar things and relating.  However this circumstance of dating and Afghan is quite a rare one.  Well, let me rephrase that, not rare, but rarely spoken about.

 My one an only goal here (other than releasing my own personal thoughts on digital paper) is to aid any others who may be or have found themselves in my situation.  Whether your the Afghan dating a non-Afghan or vice versa.  I hope this may help you in ways it could have helped me nearly 10 years ago.

To start,  I am a 27 year old Caucasian female (non-religious) dating a 30 year old Afghan Muslim man.